March 29, 2012

Coffee Beans As Weight Loss Medicine

According to new evidence, unroasted coffee beans may be able to play a big role in those who are trying to lose weight.

Scientists found that unroasted, or green, coffee beans can produce a substantial decrease in body weight in a short period of time.

They reported their findings at the 243rd National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS).

The study involved 16 overweight or obese people between the ages of 22 and 26 years old. The participants were given capsules of the extract or capsules containing a placebo for 22 weeks during the study.

The subjects alternated between a low dose and a higher dose of the extract. The low dose consisted of 700 mg of coffee extract, while the higher dose was at 1,050 mg.

All the participants in the study were monitored for their overall diet and exercise during the 22 week period.

Joe Vinson, Ph.D., the study leader, said their calories, carbohydrates, fats and proteins did not change during the study. He also said the participants did not exercise any differently.

The researchers found after the trial that the participants lost an average of 17 pounds during the 22 weeks.

The participants saw an average of 10.5 percent decrease in overall body weight, and a 16 percent decrease in body fat.

Vinson said that weight loss might have been significantly faster if it wasn't for some participants receiving a lower dose of green coffee extract for part of the study period.

He said this was the first study to use higher amounts of the coffee extract and the first to measure the response to various doses.

"Based on our results, taking multiple capsules of green coffee extract a day – while eating a low-fat, healthful diet and exercising regularly – appears to be a safe, effective, inexpensive way to lose weight," Vinson said at the ACS meeting.

Vinson believes green coffee beans' effects are due to a substance found in the beans called chlorogenic acid.

This acid breaks down when coffee beans are roasted at a temperature of 464 to 482 degrees Fahrenheit.

Unroasted coffee beans have very little aroma, and a slightly bitter taste, compared to the typical color and aroma of a roasted coffee bean.